What's the Big Deal with Tomoe River Paper?
Tomoe River paper is found in several forms, but we particularly love the paper in the MacLellan Books pocketbooks! Like the Kaweco Sport, these pocketbooks are great for on the go.
If you’ve ever used a fountain pen on cheap quality paper, you will know the disappointment when your beautiful ink pools and bleeds through the back of the page. You might think that the solution is thicker paper, but thicker paper is usually rougher, and rougher paper can damage nibs.
Tomoe River paper seems like it wouldn’t be fountain pen friendly because it is so darn thin! However, the paper is widely regarded to be one of the absolute best choices in the industry for fountain pen users. To touch, it almost feels like wax paper! Another of the fun features is the sound the paper makes when you turn a page — such a satisfying crinkle!
The paper comes in two paper weights, 52gsm and 68gsm, both of which are much thinner than the standard paper varieties you might be used to. For instance, Leuchtturm1917 paper is 80 gsm and Dingbats is 100gsm! This means that you can fit way more paper in a thinner notebook, so you’re getting more paper for the amount of space.
In terms of colour, Tomoe River comes in either cream or white. Both are quite light, so they aren’t distracting, but there is enough of a difference between the colours that you will notice them if you have a preference.
If you like inks that sheen and shade, Tomoe River is an excellent choice. Because of the way the ink pools on the pages, you can get some characteristics from your ink, either where lines cross or where you put thicker lines on the page! For the same reasons, Tomoe River paper is also a fan favourite for use with rollerball pens and even light washes of watercolour. As long as you don’t load the paper up with water, it will handle your colours with ease.
Hobonichi planners, like the 2021 Techo in the Liberty Fabrics Lockwood cover pictured here, are made with Tomoe River paper, making them a popular choice for fountain pen users and for art journalists!
Though Tomoe River paper is great for almost all writing utensils, it isn’t recommended for use with friction pens — because the paper is so thin, sometimes the friction can erase both sides of the pages with writing by these pens! However, if your utensil of choice is anything from a wooden pencil to a fineliner or from a fountain pen to brush markers, Tomoe River should be a smooth writing experience for you!
Tomoe River was founded in Japan in 1914 and has been thrilling paper enthusiasts since then. The brand was named for the Tomoegawa River, which ran through the plant. Tomoe River now comes in a variety of formats and can be made into any manner of notebooks and planners, as well as looseleaf sheets!
At Phidon, we sell Tomoe River paper in several different forms. Some of the most popular options are the Phidon Exclusive MacLellan Books notebooks. The notebooks come in a B6 sized hardcover, a B6 Cahier, or you can get them in softcover pocketbooks.
Other options for Tomoe River in the store include the Sakae Technical Paper Softcover notebook, the Colorverse Nebula notebook, and Hobonichi notebooks. If you’d prefer to try Tomoe River in a planner instead of a notebook, you could always try the popular Hobonichi planners! You can find out more about Hobonichi in a previous blog post, but know that the planner is the brand of choice for fountain pen users for a reason!
Have you tried Tomoe River paper? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments!